ARA: He must say ‘happy holidays,’ not ‘merry Christmas’

Note: this is an ARA, which means a reader — not me, Kristi Gustafson — is asking the question. So I was out finishing up my CHRISTMAS shopping tonight at a local Target store. It was obvious I was CHRISTMAS shopping form the Santa wrapping paper in my cart. After bagging my items the cashier says “Have a Happy Holiday.” I respond by wishing him a MERRY CHRISTMAS. He then informs we he is not allowed to say those words.

Are you kidding me??? I am not going to go off on him, he was just doing his job, but I was very annoyed. I just repeated myself and left. With everyone trying not to offend anyone we end up losing our own rights, as if celebrating CHRISTMAS isn’t a perfectly acceptable thing to do. In accepting and/or tolerating religious freedom we forgot the principles that founded this country, Christianity being one of them. Considering that the majority of Americans celebrate CHRISTMAS I don’t think I am being unreasonable. I will certainly be writing a letter to Target about this!

My dad owns an Italian Deli, and I worked there during holidays for a number of years. Being that it’s an Italian deli, demographically, 99% of the clientele is Catholic; it’s just a fact.

One year, i’m going to say around 1996, I did my usual “Merry Christmas” to an older lady, and I was even nice enough to give her a calendar for her patronage. She snarled at me, “I’m Jewish; I don’t celebrate Jesus.” My response was just a jaw to the ground.

Here’s this lady, yelling at me for doing my job and wishing her a Merry Christmas. Did she really think I was serious about the sentiment? Did I really want her to have a Merry Christmas? No. But, in my opinion, just as you allude to, it’s the thought that counts. Take your bag and your free calendar and get the ____ out, Lady! Next Customer!

Since the majority of my life has been learning to avoid confrontation, my “Merry Christmas” in the deli turned into “Happy holidays,” all because of one bad apple.

(I don’t blame the kid or Target; old whatever-religion women who don’t appreciate a sentiment are really annoying.)

I also think that the reader is making too much of it. But the same goes true in equal amounts to anyone who would be offended by having someone say “Merry Christmas” to you. Sometime you have to remember that the intent and spirit mean should outweigh your own personal hang-ups about the words themselves. No matter if it’s “Happy Holidays” or “Merry Christmas” the wisher wishes you well, Stop trying to cheapen that.

Poor ARA.. he didn’t wish you a Merry Christmas! I bet you get ticked off when you have to press #1 for English. Now please go ask a Muslim (or really any non-Christian) how their religion is treated in this country.

If anyone actually reads this letter you intend on writing, you should probably not expect a response back. Target is an INCREDIBLY liberal company, and they are just trying not to piss people off…which obviously isn’t working. But you can’t please everyone.

Reader — if what you’re most offended by is the cashier admitting he’s not allowed to say Merry Christmas, why didn’t you say that in your ARA? And, what will your letter to Target say? That the cashier was honest with a customer about their store policies? I hope he doesn’t lose his job over your letter.

But Reader you didn’t clarify with him why he can’t say it. Doubtful it’s a company policy because you can sense from what the person is buying so maybe it’s personal preference. The cashier may be multi-cultural and celebrates Christmas, Hannukah, Kwanza, Boxing Day, St. Lucia Day, and Fiesta of Our Lady of Guadalupe so with all that on his plate he doesn’t want to discriminate against you in case he missed your celebration of Winter Solstice.

This just sounds ignorant. You’re entitled to feel the way you do by all means, but the assumption is made all too often that just because someone fits a certain profile, they act, worship and whatever else, a certain way. Consider a reverse scenario where do not celebrate the prominent holiday and you are constantly told “Merry Christmas” Amazingly enough, the country you live in holds a lot more people than the ones that celebrate and believe in the same things you do. So get a grip, “happy holidays” is a universal way to wish someone well without offending and alienating them. Like it or not, get used to it.

#25, Hanukkah is not always much earlier than Christmas. Sometimes it is , othertimes it is later in the month, and often throughout Christmas.
And if a store chooses to try to be inclusive of all of their customers, sounds like a good plan.
( war on Christmas?? It is a national holiday! Worry about real wars, or real religious persecution. My husband spent his childhood being beat up because he was Jewish. And you want to write a letter to Target? )

Have a Happy Holiday!! ( at least try to because if you are so indignant about this, how can you be happy?)

Wow, spent my teen years working at McDonalds and even then, figured it out all by my 17 year old self that it was just soooo much easier to say Happy Holidays to all because it was easier than saying all kinds of miscillanious crap. It covered every holiday in the month of Dec and into Jan. How can you be offended by Happy Holidays? If this is all you have to complain about, then you are truly blessed and should find some volunteer work to do with your free time.

Like almost everyone else has already pointed out, “Happy Holidays!” is an all-encompassing, umbrella term. So, basically, your precious, “Merry CHRISTMAS!” was actually implied within the cashier’s sentiment. You can go ahead and disregard the others. Yes, the MAJORITY OF AMERICANS CELEBRATE CHRISTMAS AND, YES, YOU ARE CHRISTIAN BUT THAT DOESN’T MEAN THE NEXT PERSON IN LINE BEHIND YOU ISN’T JEWISH OR MUSLIM OR ATHEIST OR A MEMBER OF THE CHURCH OF FONZIE.

First of all, that was a rant, not a question.
Second, you can say whatever you want to other people and they absolutely do not have to wish you a Merry Christmas back.
It’s rude to expect it.
Will you be wishing people happy Passover if you see them buying Matzo at Price Chopper? Will you wish me a happy birthday if you see me standing around looking excited? (You should by the way).
You need to realize that you’re not the center of everyone’s universe and are not entitled to a personalized greeting from every clerk and stranger.
Get over it.

I don’t wanna “Get Over It”.No such thing as “Happy Holidays”? Unless your to lazy to say:”Happy Thangiving” “Merry Christmas” “Happy New Year” don’t combined the three together.If you wish me a “Happy Holiday” you better be ready to tell me which one. Holiday(S)pertaining to a festival; festive; joyous: a holiday mood You better be ready to tell me which one cause im gonna ask

GET RID OF ALL THOSE MANY RELIGIONS AND THEN WE WILL HAVE PEACE IN THIS WORLD:
IF A MUSLIMS LIVE IN A CHRISTIAN COUNTRY THEN THEY SHOULD ACCEPT OUR CONSTITUTION AND WAY OF LIFE OR GO BACK TO WHERE THEY CAME FROM:
“””””IT ALL ONLY FALSE UNDERSTOOD TOLERANCE”””””